Because of the seriousness of the parathion hazard, and the primary need to anticipate and assess both short- and long-term accumulative threats to a healthy environment before they reach a critical stage, it is proposed that a comprehensive multidisciplinary research project embracing the exceptional research resources of the University of California, Davis, be activated to eventually determine the true factors relating to the environmental fate of parathion. Broadly, the proposed long-term University of California Food Protection and Toxicology Center parathion research project would initially include these areas of study: uptake, penetration, and residues in field crops; movement in air (drift), water and soil (persistence and degradation); effectss on food chains (fresh water and marine organisms): cellular and subcellular effects involving plant, animal and human cells and embryos; occupational hazards (aerial and ground applications, exposure and decontamination of agricultural and other workers); metabolism and detoxification (metabolic pathway, potentiation, and degradation); and decontamination and disposal (waste and spillage).